INL Foundation reposted this
WE ARE LIVING IN THE DATA CENTER REVOLUTION. Nearly everything in our lives is now linked to the vast architecture of information crisscrossing the planet, including our work, our communication, our banking, and our entertainment. With the rise in data centers has come rising energy demands. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies require tremendous amounts of stable electricity generation, and some reports estimate that data centers could consume up to 12% of total U.S. energy production in 2028. So, how are we going to meet those needs? Nuclear has the potential to be a great partner for the data centers of today and tomorrow: Advantages of Nuclear Energy for Data Centers 1. Nuclear energy provides 24/7 power. Data centers never sleep, and neither do nuclear plants. Nuclear operates at full capacity more than any other energy source and provides electricity around the clock, day in and day out. The constant, firm power that nuclear generates fits perfectly with the 99.999%+ energy reliability needs of data centers. 2. Nuclear plants rarely need to shut down. Downtime at a data center can be expensive — over $8 million per day, by some estimates. Current nuclear plants operate 18 to 24 months at a stretch and refueling outages typically last only a few weeks. 3. Nuclear reactors are flexible. Not all data centers are the same. Current designs range from 10 megawatts to 1 gigawatt in power consumption, and future data centers could reach 4 gigawatts or more. Next-generation reactors could meet those power needs with versatile, scalable designs ranging from transportable microreactors to small modular reactors to large-scale light-water nuclear plants. 4. Nuclear energy costs are stable. Steady prices from power purchase agreements and the long lifespans (80+ years) of nuclear plants give nuclear an edge when it comes to long-term business planning for data centers. 5. Nuclear energy is compact. The advanced reactors of today and tomorrow will be designed with a small footprint and passive safety features that could allow them to be built alongside data centers, reducing transmission costs. 6. Existing nuclear plants have hidden potential. Bringing retired nuclear plants back online is one potential way to power data centers without the cost of building a new plant. In September 2024, Microsoft and Constellation Energy reached a 20-year power purchase agreement to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 to support Microsoft’s data center operations. DOE is working to remove barriers to co-locating data centers with new generation sources like nuclear power, while also providing reliable and affordable energy for American citizens. INL is the National Nuclear Energy Laboratory. Partnering with the INL Foundation and the Idaho National Laboratory can allow a data center to reap tax advantages while accessing some of the best nuclear energy experts in the world. Check it out: INL.gov & INLFoundation.org.
